IU student to compete in US Chess Championship

An IU student will compete in a prestigious national chess tournament next month.

Freshman Marc Arnold was selected as one of 24 competitors for the United States Chess Championship.

The tournament will take place May 2-13 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. 

CCSCSL Publicist Daniel Hernandez said Arnold qualified for the competition by winning matches throughout the year and accumulating points.

“I’m really excited,” said Arnold, a first-time U.S. Championship competitor. “Being from the U.S., I’ve always aspired to play in the tournament.”

Arnold said he began playing chess at age 6 during classes at school.

“I just thought it was an interesting game,” he said. “It came easy to me.”

At the same age, Arnold said he started competing in his hometown of Manhattan, N.Y. He said since then he has participated in so many tournaments, he can’t keep count.

“I just like the competitive atmosphere,” he said. “And the fact that I get to see my friends.” 

Arnold said chess allows him to meet people from around the world.

The 20-year-old said he took a year between high school and college to play chess and earn a Grandmaster title, one of the highest awards a chess player can earn from the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (World Chess Federation). He said his games improved throughout the year after he struggled in the beginning.

“It was pretty stressful because I wasn’t making the requirements,” he said. “I was really happy when they gave me the title.”

Arnold said he usually practices on his own for important tournaments. He said his main strategy is studying other top players’ recent games and looking for new and innovative moves, called “novelties,” to bring to his own.

“A lot of the world’s best players are looking for new ideas, so I try to emulate them,” Arnold said.

Matches usually last about three hours, Arnold said. He said he’s used to playing for long periods of time but still gets stressed before the start of a tournament.

“I’m not sure how I’m going to play,” he said. “I’m always a little nervous.”

Matches begin on May 3 and follow a Swiss style, which means not every competitor plays against each other. Instead, similar scores between players decide the next matchups, Arnold said.

According to the U.S. Chess Championship’s website, the competition includes nine rounds of play plus a playoff. More than $180,000 in prizes will be awarded, including a $30,000 grand prize.

Arnold said he has no expectations entering the tournament, but winning in such a tough arena would be “incredible.”

“It would be the best thing I’ve accomplished in my chess career,” he said. “It’s a tough tournament. It’s really hard to win.”